Lyndall finds that the skills she developed as a director help her navigate the hundreds of choices and decisions that make up any ambitious design project.

"Unless you've spent many, many years doing this kind of work yourself, it makes total sense to hire someone -- a designer -- to help you make the best, most creative yet cost-effective decisions," she says.

While Lyndall has top-to-bottom experience with major house renovations -- she even counts contracting among her skills -- the designer is open to all projects and budgets.

"The size of the job doesn't matter to me," she says. "The quality and care will always be there."